CONTENT

I couldn't explain it, but I felt like I saw this place for the first time. I saw bees moving desperately among the flowers. The color was very bright. Did you find the same flower here yesterday? Did someone come in the middle of the night and change everything? I felt that way. There was more detail than I had ever seen. It was anxious and, in a sense, almost scary. Usually I was a very active and determined runner, but now I'm slowing down. I looked around. It was a very life. Many movements I felt unfamiliar feelings at that time ... Pure joy. I could feel it violently in my body. I just wanted to bathe in all that beauty. I was asleep and dead and finally woke up.

It's not uncommon when someone starts practicing mediation. When we slow down and stop living in our heads too much, we can experience a change in perspective. Sometimes it's more gradual and subtle, but in my case it was very sudden and dramatic. For the next few weeks and months, I enjoyed taking a walk in this small alley every day. I stopped listening to my iPod. I listened to the birdsong and the wind flowing between the trees. Every day I came to the beginning of the road hoping for something magical. Only I couldn't regain the first moment of pure surprise. Over time, walking in the alleys became a familiar routine again. It was no longer a fascinating place. Gradually, I returned to what I used to be. I still enjoyed commuting and found it rewarding to be outside, but at least for now, the magic is over. Why did this happen? What has changed? Irish writer and philosopher Iris Murdoch once said, "People on a flowerless planet would have to go crazy with joy whenever we were around such things." I did. 

Can you imagine what it would look like? What if you were from another planet who had never seen a flower? How do you think it will react? No matter what you do, it will almost certainly stop. You will naturally ask yourself: What on earth is this wonderful thing? !! Perhaps I have a strong curiosity. Perhaps you get closer to investigate? All senses are awake. What does this object look like? How is it smelling? If you look very closely you may notice all sorts of small things ... delicate and intricate structures, subtle color nuances, fascinating scents? Flowers are everywhere except here on earth. They are the order of the day. We are always looking at them. Occasionally we may see a particularly beautiful flower and notice how beautiful it is. "Oh, another flower, a yellow flower. That's a good thing. It's a fleeting moment. You may be grateful, but there is no real curiosity, fascination, or wonder. Most of us are certainly not "engaged in joy"! We've probably seen how great things become commonplace over time. We slowly take it for granted. The shine gradually fades. That's what happened to me in the weeks and months from my first experience when I walked the road. Unknowingly, I stopped seeing the world with new eyes.